This tutorial solves problems with a website on Webhosting (including WMS).
- If you are troubleshooting an FTP connection problem, follow the FTP Troubleshooting guide.
- If your emails are not working, follow the instructions in Emails - Troubleshooting.
- If you are using WEDOS Protection and the website is not behaving properly, read Protection - Troubleshooting website ⧉.
In this article you will read:
Diagnosing web problems
Most of the common errors are well described and the best way to get useful instructions on how to solve them is to type the error message or a brief description of the error in combination with the name of the provider (or content management system) into a search engine (Google, ...), for example Error 500 Prestashop WEDOS.
If you can't find the procedure, try the following steps:
- Run the domain diagnostics as described in Domains - Diagnostics. Here you will find out if the services are active/disabled or if they are run by VEDOS at all.
- Check the Status service at wedos.status.online ⧉. The web server designation can be found in the diagnostic listing from the previous step.
- Go through the troubleshooting chapter step by step.
More advanced tools for diagnosing web problems include:
- Logging. It allows you to locate specific errors (Errorlog) and their relation to the number of accesses to the site (Accesslog). Once a month you have a free 24-hour Webhosting logging. You can find instructions in the article Webhosting - Logging.
- Browser developer tools. They are particularly useful for checking broken parts of pages (Network) and scripts (Console). Instructions can be found in your browser manual.
Troubleshooting web problems
Problems with the site can arise in various places:
- Domain or DNS: This commonly includes domain expiration or other cause of DNS server shutdown, alternatively problematic interference with DNS records.
- In Webhosting settings: Some service parameters may conflict with the application you are hosting.
- In directory structure or files: these problems occur mainly when FTP is problematic, more rarely when uploading content by other means.
- In the content management system or application: these problems are very diverse - any application, template, plugin or combination of them can cause an error. WEDOS provides guidance (or support) for only the most common of these problems.
- Consequence of an attack: if you have malware on your website, or your data has been deleted or altered by an attacker, we can provide you with a backup if the problem is detected early. We don't handle the actual virus removal of the site from our side, seek help from a specialist.
Domain and DNS
Domain, DNS and Webhosting are different services. Always make sure you know the current provider of these services before troubleshooting.
Domain and DNS errors occur almost exclusively due to changes to these services, whether manual (overwriting DNS server data or records) or automatic (domain registry shutdown, automatic settings in administration).
The most common domain or DNS problems include:
- The inactive domain has either expired or has not yet been established. If you can, please pay for the service, it should be up and running again within 6 - 48 hours after the payment has been successfully received in our system. If you do not see the previously active domain in the administration, it is either in another customer account (or with another registrar) or the system has deleted it after a certain expiration time.
A common reason for deactivation of generic domains (COM, NAME, ...) is the failure to verify the domain owner's email that we sent you after registration within 15 days. Trace this email and use the link to verify the domain owner. If you cannot find the email, ask support to resend it to you. Please include the domain name in your request.
- Incorrect DNS servers. If you have recently changed DNS servers (NSSET) for a domain, make sure you have the correct Type A or AAAA records with the new provider. Also expect a longer time to rewrite DNS servers, which usually takes 6 - 48 hours.
- Incorrect or missing Type A or AAAA records. A domain must have at least one DNS record of type A or AAAA in order for the site to function. If your web hosting provider does not support that record type (IPv4 or IPv6 address), make sure you delete the old records of that type so that visitors are not routed to the old address.
Some actions, such as setting up a new hosting, renaming, adding an alias, or deploying WEDOS Protection ⧉, can automatically change DNS records of type A and AAAA. Pay close attention to the DNS auto-setup options when performing these actions.
Web Hosting Settings
Errors in web hosting settings are most often manifested when changing its parameters or updating the application that runs on the hosting.
The most common problems with web hosting setup include:
- It is easy to recognize a disabled or limited web server by the error screen with the message Webhosting is disabled. Web server shutdown occurs most often after Webhosting expires.
Webhosting expired for more than 30 days (7 days for terminated Webhosting) is completely deleted from the system. You can restore it by ordering a new service and uploading your own backup. It is not possible to restore a backup of a deleted hosting from our side.
- Low performance is most often manifested by Error 503 - Service Temporarily Unavailable, in which the allocated power is exhausted and the server is unable to handle other application requests.
- Most of the time, you will be alerted to a problem with a PHP version or parameters directly by error messages, or you will encounter them when troubleshooting applications and plugins that support them. Some PHP parameters also depend on the web hosting plan ⧉, others, including the PHP version, can be set by following the instructions Webhosting - PHP Configuration. You can check the availability of the PHP features required by your application in the PHPinfo (8.0) ⧉ listing.
- A broken HTTPS usually displays an error message about an insecure connection, or a Not Found on Accelerator message. In either case, manually check your Webhost's HTTPS settings and troubleshoot any errors. Repeat the next HTTPS test at least half an hour after the administration shows the certificate as active. If problems persist, contact customer support ⧉.
Directory structure and files
Directory structure and file errors are usually caused by unprofessional intervention on FTP or due to web infections.
The most common directory structure and file errors include:
- Error 403 - Forbiddenwhen access to the directory or display of the index.html or index.php file is blocked.
- Error 404 - Not Found, i.e. file not found, usually because it is renamed or deleted.
- Error 500 - Internal Server Error, which is usually caused by invalid commands in the .htaccess file or a conflict of subdomains on the webhost.
- Violating the directory structure by uploading the site to a directory other than the www folder (usually the root directory) or the directories for alias domains and subdomains. Sites located in the domains and subdomains subdirectories also require the use of the default .htaccess. Less obvious directory structure bugs include problems with file uploading and token storage. Both are caused by a missing folder(tmp or session) in the root directory. In all of these cases, reset the basic directory structure of the webhost by following the Webhosting - Reset FTP instructions.
Content management systems and applications
VEDOS is in no way responsible for errors of editorial systems or applications operated on web hosting, including applications installed by our installer or migrated by an automatic migration tool.
In case of a request for help from VEDOS support , set up temporary FTP access for at least 1-2 business days and expect that such intervention may take several days or may be denied.
You can find solutions to the problems that the community encounters most often in the Help ⧉ community guides. If you don't see a solution here, you can try asking a question on the ⧉ forum.
If you know which part of the system or application is causing the problem (for example, you can see the name of the error template or plugin in the file path), contact their support directly.
Infected website
An attack on a website can manifest itself in various ways. The most common include:
- Changing or deleting website content
- Unwanted redirects
- Sending spam
The only way to deal with a website attack from our side is to limit the performance of the website or shut it down, in the case of spamming, by blocking the mail() function. If a healthy backup of files and databases is not available, you have to deal with the matter yourself or through an external specialist.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I do if none of this solved my problem?
Activate temporary FTP access for support and write via the contact form ⧉. Include the name of the site and a detailed description of the problem, including screenshots ⧉ error messages or unwanted behavior. If the solution takes a long time, be patient and keep temporary FTP access active. If you decide to resolve the issue on your own during this time, please terminate FTP access and notify us.
How long does it take for VEDOS support to resolve my issue?
We usually send instructions for solving known problems within 1 hour. In the case when the CMS/WebSite department or a technician is needed, the solution may take several days - it always depends on the difficulty of the solution and the workload of the department.